• Aarluk Consulting Inc. is delighted to announce the hiring of Chris Grosset, joining the team after two years with the Government of Nunavut as Coordinator of Design and Capital Planning for Parks in Nunavut. Chris holds a Master's Degree in Landscape Architecture, and is an experienced planner, project manager, and researcher.

Chris "left"

• And speaking of February....from our "Some People Get Better February Gigs Than Others" Department....ARDOS President Dr. Valerie Assinewe will be working with the  Kekchi Healers Centre, Botanical Garden and Medicinal Biodiversity Project in Belize this month.  Along with other northern partners (including the University of Ottawa, Natural Resources Canada and Canadian Aboriginal Science and Technology Society), Valerie will be developing work plans with the Belize Indigenous Training Institute and Kekchi Healer’s Association to define strategies for local biological diversity research, and the sustainability of the Healers’ Centre and Botanical Garden.

• Valerie will also be chairing the Aboriginal Natural Health Product Session, one of several concurrent for a, at the First Natural Health Product Bridge-Building Conference: linking research, industry and government presented in Montreal on February 20–22, 2004.  The conference, which is organized by the recently-formed Natural Health Product Research Society, a non-profit organization of academic, industry and government researchers from across Canada, will showcase the latest, cutting edge natural health product research.
   

ONGOING PROJECTS

• The Nunavut Implementation Training Committee has just released the winter edition of their newsletter, always a "must read" for anyone interested in the development of training in Nunavut. You can access the newsletter at their website, www.nitc.ca/english/news-newsletter.html

• Fieldwork in the five case study communities selected for the Evaluation of the Benefits and Measures Delivered Under the Canada-Nunavut LMDA is wrapping up. The selected communities are Arviat, Cambridge Bay, Iqaluit, Pangnirtung and Rankin Inlet. Researchers David Boult, Helen Klengenberg and Terry Forth have completed travel to the communities. Special honours go to Pangnirtung fieldworker Jonah Kilabuk, who miraculously managed to complete surveys with nearly three-quarters of clients in the community. The surveys were conducted in two group sessions, one in November and one in January and Jonah's persistence and encouragement, with assistance from the local LMDA delivery staff, managed to draw high levels of participation to both sessions. Congratulations to Pangnirtung for the great turnout!

• Last chance (February 2nd) to register for the Aboriginal Human Resource Development Council of Canada national forum in Halifax. Stakeholder groups will develop engagement strategies that will assist Aboriginal people to find and maintain employment. ARDOS team members and conference organizers Ron Ryan, Jennifer David and Leslie Sutherland will be onsite.

• Helen Klengenberg and Lazarus Arreak of Aarluk are helping Nunavut count down the days to NTI’s election on March 16th, 2004. As Chief Electoral Officer and Assistant Electoral Officer, they’ve set up a website (www.ntielections.com), established and manned a toll free number for inquiries (1-877-NTI-VOTE) (684-8683), and dealt with the hundreds of details associated with the nominations and voting procedures.

Here’s a list of who’ll be on the ballot March 16th.

Presidential candidates:

Archie Angnakak - Iqaluit.
Paul Kaludjak - Rankin Inlet
Ben Kovic - Iqaluit
Cathy Towtongie - Rankin Inlet

2nd Vice President candidates:

Stanley Anablak - Kugluktuk
Jeannie Evalik - Cambridge Bay
Hezekiah Oshutapik - Pangnirtung
Raymond Ningeocheak - Rankin Inlet

One particularly interesting feature of this election is the  “Your Vote … Your Voice”  Contest , an initiative to promote youth interest and involvement in the electoral process. Check out the election website for details.
 

• The proceedings of Redefining Relationships, the highly successful conference on Land Claim Implementation organized by Consilium last November, are now available on our website, at www.consilium.ca/alcc.
   
• Meanwhile, active follow-up on the conference recommendations has begun. A working group with representation from Nunavut Tunngavik Inc., the Grand Council of the Crees, the Nisga'a Lisims Government, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Makivik Corporation, the Sahtu Secretariat, the Council for Yukon First Nations and the NWT Aboriginal Summit has been struck. The group represents an Aboriginal coalition which will be using the Accord signed by conference participants to guide its focus over the next several months. Consiliumite Patti Black will be coordinating the group's activities. For more information contact Patti at black@consilium.ca .

• Ron Ryan facilitated a two-day workshop for the Nunavut Economic Developers Association in Iqaluit last week. The meeting is the first step in the development of a training strategy for Community Economic Development Officers.

GOSSIP
 

• Even with an extra day in it, February is slim pickings in the Consilium birthday department. The sole honours this month....ladies and gentlemen, doff hats and raise glasses to Mary Ann Dohler, our former accountant. Mary Ann's birthday, February 9th, is also the first day of National Flirting Week. (Do you suppose there's a federal department somewhere approving these things?)